Picking up the pieces
by Links6
Summary: Kenny confessed to Cartman earlier that day... Stan is picking up the pieces Kenny x Cartman


"So… I just kinda leaned over and-" Kenny stopped and rubbed his head forcefully, as if trying to rid his frustration by causing himself pain. Stan stood by silently, not daring to say anything. It had taken four days for Kenny to even answer a phone call or the doorbell. He didn't want to pressure his friend any more than really necessary. It was obvious Kenny hadn't moved much in these past few days. All his movements were strained, stiff and were probably much more painful than Kenny let on. That was the thing Kenny was good at, hiding pain. Even the times he would die, no one would ever notice that he was even in trouble. He was really good at hiding things. The only thing that gave it away was the fact that his eyelids were drooping.

Kyle was off on a fieldtrip with the rest of the History group. Neither Stan nor Kenny had picked History as one of their subjects, so they technically had off for another two days. Technically meaning that they were supposed to be at school, but they weren't going to get work anyway, so they just decided to stay home. Cartman, well that fat-ass just pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. No one had heard anything from him since…

Stan took a deep breath. The tension in the air was draining his ability to breathe normally. It was as if all the bad memories of the past few days had taken the form of invisible ether and it was choking the life out of him. Listening his friend try and explain just what happened was tearing at his chest. This must be the reason why people say their heart is broken. It really does feel that way. "I just… I didn't even think about what could – well, then he pushed me away and told me to go screw myself" Kenny rushed the ending, laughing in between. Stan could tell that he was broken. Kenny's normally cheerful and sweet laughter had turned bitter and forced. Tears were welling up in Kenny's eyes and the teenager acted as if it was from laughing, so he forced himself to laugh even louder.

"Um… Kenny…" Stan started, but his friend just shook his head with a smile. "It's cool, Stan! It's not like I meant it anyway" Kenny said, wiping the tears from his eyes, all the while still keeping his fake smile in place. Stan just sat quietly, knees together, elbows tucked in, making himself as small as possible. Up until now he had been trying to help his friend, one of his best friends… but hearing Kenny say something like that… it only made Stan want to shake the boy by his shoulders and scream, 'I know you meant it!! Don't say you don't mean it – because you did! I know you did!'. Kenny drew a breath, "He even told me to jump off a bridge" he said and laughed again. Stan bit his lip, "That bastard! I can't believe he said that to you!" Stan mumbled furiously. Nausea filled him and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Not only did Cartman rip out Kenny's heart, but he had to rub it in.

Almost as if planned, both stood at the same time and headed towards the door of the trailer. Stanley knew that Kenny wouldn't even try to open up any more than he had already. Kenny knew that Stan was observant enough to know that, so neither said a word until they reached the door of the trailer. "I guess I'm not too funny, huh?" Kenny said, trying still desperately to sound cheerful. Stan's blue eyes met Kenny's own. Stan forced a grunt as an answer, not trusting his voice to supply his friend with an answer. "Sorry to have bugged you, man! I'll give you your Math's textbook back on Monday" Kenny said as he held his door open for Stan.

A misty rain was falling from the sky, turning a relatively cool day in South Park to freezing. Stan breathed in the cool air, hoping it would relax his tense shoulders and his churning stomach. "You didn't waste my time, Kenny… you know that…" he said eventually, shoving his gloved hands into his pants pockets, "I'll see you then on Monday". The blond haired boy stood silently for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "… Well… Bye, Stan" he said quickly and ducked back into the trailer, shutting the door. Stan blinked; he remembered well that Kenny had said something similar only seven years ago…

On Monday morning, Stan found his Math's textbook on his regular desk in homeroom, but Kenny wasn't there. It looked like Kenny had, just as usual, skipped a day of school.

The news had only reached Stan that afternoon. The police was called in when a cyclist had found Kenny's body by the river. He was declared dead on site. Kenny had nothing on him except a single note with a simple sentence written in pencil, 'I'm sorry it took so long'.


End file.
